Children with diabetes usually have what is called Type 1 diabetes, one form of the disease known as diabetes mellitus. It's an autoimmune disease, which means the body's own immune system, designed to attack infectious agents invading from outside, instead attacks cells that perform a healthy, normal body function.

In Type 1 diabetes, essential cells of the pancreas are destroyed. Normally, these "beta" cells produce insulin, a hormone essential to life. After the food we eat releases sugar into the blood stream, insulin helps move it into our cells for energy. Without insulin, the sugar (glucose) cannot be used, and it builds up in the blood stream. When no insulin is available, your body starves -- even though you may have plenty of sugar in your bloodstream. In an attempt to get energy, the body breaks down fat, leaving behind a toxic byproduct, ketones, which can lead to a serious, life-threatening condition called ketoacidosis.

When you have diabetes, your body has problems producing a hormone called insulin. Normally, beta cells in your pancreas produce insulin, an important substance because it helps your body use the sugar it produces from the food you eat. If you have Type 1 diabetes, your body destroys the cells that produce insulin. When no insulin is available, your body starves, even though you may have plenty of sugar in your bloodstream.

Type 1 diabetes is also referred to as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. Children with Type 1 diabetes must get insulin shots, because their pancreas can't produce any insulin.

The exact cause of Type 1 diabetes is unknown. Children who have it may have inherited a genetic condition (why the disease develops at a particular time, whether it be in infancy, childhood, puberty, or adulthood, however, is still a mystery). It generally appears when they are very young or in their teen-age years. It seems to run in the family, so if both parents are diabetic, there's a higher risk their children will also develop the disease.

Type 1 diabetes usually appears before age 30, but it's possible for it to show up at any age, including infancy, and it may occur abruptly. (Type 1 diabetes is often diagnosed after a child blacks out for unknown reasons; however, people have often suspected something was wrong for a period of time before that.) Your child may also suffer from another type of the disease known as Type 2 diabetes , a condition in which the body is unable to use insulin properly.

Perhaps the most important symptoms of Type 1 diabetes in children are a need to use the bathroom a lot and constant thirst. If your child has these symptoms, take him to his physician for a checkup.

These are some of the common symptoms of Type 1 diabetes:

•Problems with urination, including increased frequency and bed-wetting

•Constant thirst

•Agitation or excessive irritability

•Increased appetite

•Unexplained weight loss

•Frequent infections

•Fatigue

•Sores that are slow to heal

•Dry, itchy skin

Unfortunately, there's not yet a cure. Diabetes is a chronic, lifelong disease requiring both intensive self-care and medical care. Without proper care, the disease can cause both acute problems -- which can be immediately dangerous and even life threatening -- and chronic problems that can affect your child's quality of life and progress to long-term complications. The good news is that diabetes is controllable, and current treatment methods have an excellent success record. By taking insulin, watching blood sugar levels, and getting regular exercise, children with Type 1 diabetes can lead healthy and active lives.

Without proper management, Type 1 diabetes can cause eye disease and blindness. It can also damage nerves, kidneys, and the large and small blood vessels, which can lead to other health problems such as stroke and heart disease. Untreated, it can lead to arteriosclerosis, leg sores, hypertension, edema, chronic infections, and death.

Treatment for diabetes is tailored to the individual child and should be planned in consultation with a doctor and other health professionals. Children with diabetes can expect to grow up normally. Because Type 1 diabetes means your child's body produces little or no insulin, however, its treatment generally requires a strict regimen, including a well-planned diet, physical activity, blood sugar testing several times a day, and insulin. (Self-monitoring for blood glucose involves pricking the finger or arm for a drop of blood that is placed on a strip and read by a small, portable meter.)

Although the treatment for Type 1 diabetes always includes insulin, this hormone can be administered either by injection (usually in multiple injections throughout the day) or through a device placed under the skin by an externally worn insulin pump, which delivers exact amounts of insulin throughout the day and night.

And soon children may not have to stick themselves with insulin. In January 2006, the FDA approved inhaled insulin as a treatment option for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. This new type of insulin, which goes by the name Exubera, comes in powder form and is the first new insulin delivery option since the discovery of the hormone in the 1920s. It is available by prescription for adults, but has not yet been approved by the FDA for children.

For Type 1 diabetics, Exubera can substitute for short-acting insulin taken with meals. However the drug is not for smokers -- something to think about should it become available for children and your child lives with one -- and it is not recommended for people with asthma or bronchitis.

If you have a small child, you will probably have to monitor and test him or her until your child is old enough to do it independently. At any given moment, your child's blood sugar level may be too high, which requires an insulin shot or increased physical activity, or too low, requiring glucose from food or drink, or from candy or glucose tablets, or perhaps an injection of the hormone glucagon for severe lows. This means you'll need to ask your doctor or diabetes educator about the physical and behavioral cues that indicate a change in blood sugar levels among infants and young children, who can't talk about the symptoms they're experiencing.

As your child gets older, some of these necessities can be hard to adjust to. Teen-agers, in particular, may become impatient with caring for their disease, so managing diabetes can be a tough balancing act. Parents need to work with their children to keep diabetes under control, and this requires both education and practice.

Working closely with both doctors and diabetes educators will help you manage the disease by creating a successful partnership with your child.

With the help of an adult, older children can learn how to manage their own condition. Children with diabetes do not generally need special medical attention. Most schools allow children to get their blood sugar tests and insulin shots at school.

However, a student who needs to be on a regimen of blood testing, insulin injections, and a special eating schedule to control diabetes may raise issues for some schools. It's important to meet with teachers and other school staff to discuss your child's needs. (Please see Diabetes in the Classroom and The Diabetes-Friendly Classroom: A Parent-School Partnership, for more information.) Many health organizations, such as Children with Diabetes, offer excellent resources to parents and teachers on caring for children with diabetes at school.

Further Resources

Children with Diabetes

http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com

The American Diabetes Association

http://www.diabetes.org

The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NIDC), part of the National Institutes of Health

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/index.htm

Diabetes Care and Education Dietetic Practice Group, a division of the American Dietetic Association

http://www.eatright.org

References

First published January 22, 2001
Last updated June 28, 2007
Copyright © 2001 Consumer Health Interactive

Or Find More On:

Back to top of page